A joyful noise: Elliot Fox is bringing merriment to electronic music

When Elliot Fox released his album late last year, it was easy to grow excited about a resurgence of electronic music in Lawrence. His music was rich, lush, danceable, and emotional. What we didn’t know, however, was how much of a showman he’d end up being.

Electronic music is a tough act to pull off. If all your music is coming out of a computer, you have to get creative with getting an audience engaged. A band like UltraVivid (one of the more popular electronic acts in Lawrence) has a leg up because they bring an array of interesting gear and synthesizers to the stage, accompanied by live percussion. But if you’re a solo songwriter like Elliot Fox, you have to lay on the charm.

This man had the audience in stitches. His onstage banter is equal parts goofball and sass, and he effortlessly interchanged it with that darling angel voice of his. One moment he’s singing about acting more effeminate, and then about a second later, he’s burping into the mic. At his Jackpot set on Saturday night, he enjoyed leaping off the stage and messing with the crowd. He’d jokingly belittle them, but then suddenly wow them with crystal clear highs in his vocals.

You can watch a clip below, but his album Self Portraits is also worth checking out (embedded after the video).

Delhi 2 Dublin is a live-electronic, bhangra, hip-hop, world-pop, hybrid act whose concerts have been likened to '90 minutes of freebasing joy'. Famous for their energy onstage, the four member crew has played over 100 shows a year for the last decade at festivals like Electric Forest (USA), Woodford Folk (Australia) and Bali Spirit Festival (Indonesia). Connecting roots to the future, D2D features a heavy electronic backbone with live traditional Indian instruments (dhol, tabla), fiddle, and the stunning punjabi-english vocals of frontman Sanjay Seran. Their latest release 'We're All Desi' sees the notorious genre smashers continue to evolve into fresh sonic territory. Teaming up with producer Nick Middleton (The Funk Hunters), the result is a battle call for a quickening world - more truth, more smiles… and a lot more bass.